Comcast - the nation's biggest broadband provider - is announcing a big shift in the way it sells the service.

The company's adding tiered pricing for customers that exceed their monthly data allotment, an approach similar to that taken by wireless phone companies as they grapple with huge increases in data traffic.

For now most Comcast customers are unlikely to be affected by the change, although data caps and pricing tiers could become more critical as more high-def video is delivered via broadband.

Comcast is also increasingly delivering "on demand" video via broadband. Most of its video services are still carried by traditional cable, but a shift toward broadband delivery combined with tiered data pricing could change the billing equation in the future.

Although Comcast tried to characterize the shift as removing caps on service - since customers can pay to get more capacity, instead of face cutoff at 250 gigabytes per month - it's moving away from what's basically unlimited service toward a metered approach.

Customers are already used to that kind of pricing on wireless networks and some other broadband networks, said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president.

"I think the answer is that in any business with a scarce resource - our network is not an unlimited and free resource - appropriate and fair pricing models absolutely should include and can include differential pricing based upon different utilizations of the network," he said, when I asked if this is conditioning Comcast customers for wireless-type billing.

To soften the blow a bit, Comcast is boosting its current 250 gig per month data cap to 300 gigs. Customers that use more than 300 gigs a month will face metered charges, along the lines of $10 for an additional 50 gigs.

Comcast is still tinkering with the final pricing approach and will be testing different options in a a few markets. It may offer a range of data caps with various rate plans, with 300 gigs as the minimum. Or it may use 300 gigs as the standard data cap across the different tiers of service it offers.

Currently Comcast customers' median usage is 8 to 10 gigabytes per month. Only a small percentage hit the 250 gig threshold, but that percentage is increasing, Cohen said.

During this testing phase, the company is dropping enforcement of data caps altogether, so start your downloads.

But don't go too crazy. The company will continue to "contact the very small number of excessive users" to see if their usage is being shared through an unsecured router or spiking because of malware, Cohen said.

Comcast won't raise prices as a result of the higher caps, Cohen said.

"We don't have any current intention to change our pricing," he said.

The pricing changes come after Comcast drew heat for a plan to exclude its Xfinity broadband video service on the Xbox from data caps that applied to competing video services. Comcast draws a distinction between services on the "public Internet" such as Hulu and controlled-access services such as Xfinity which don't count against the data caps.

In its announcement today, Comcast executive Cathy Avgiris said the company is treating other services fairly.

"Importantly, we have consistently treated all video carried over the public Internet the same whether it comes from our sites or anywhere else on the public Internet," she said in the announcement. "XfinityTV.com, nbc.com, Hulu, Netflix or YouTube, and every other Internet video site (whether our site or a third-party site) is treated, and will continue to be treated, exactly the same. That's consistent with FCC rules and consistent with what we have always done and continue to do."

Avigris - executive vice president and general manager of communications and data services - said the pricing changes are a response to the changing market and technology. She called them "more flexible data usage management approaches that benefit consumers and support innovation."

Comcast also reiterated that it started applying data caps in 2008 to ensure the overall quality of service wasn't degraded by abnormally high usage.

The 300 gigabyte per month allotment will apply to its Internet Essentials, Economy and Performance tiers. Additional caps will be provided to higher tiers such as Blast and Extreme. Additional gigs will be available in blocks.

Comcast isn't yet saying where the testing of different options will happen. Here are FAQs the company posted.

Forget about Seattle's grand plans for a city-sponsored, superfast broadband network.

Seattle has quietly given up, ending nearly a decade of blue-ribbon commissions, reams of studies and public outreach.

Since 2004, residents were tantalized by the prospect of affordable, fiber-optic service that would offset the near monopoly of Comcast and boost creativity, collaboration and innovation.

The closest Seattle came was a meager test of public Wi-Fi service along a few blocks in Columbia City, University Way and downtown parks that began in 2005.

Last week the city literally pulled the plug, ending its "community wireless service" April 29.

It was time to update the network, and the city opted to spend the $100,000 elsewhere.

"With the general-fund budget situation being the way it is, I recommended to the mayor -- and he agreed -- we should shut it down," said Bill Schrier, chief technology officer.

Providing more and better access to the Internet is a national priority. It's seen by local governments as key to improving quality of life, attracting entrepreneurs and nourishing business.

Yet few cities have found the gumption to get it done and challenge the powerful telecommunications industry.

Municipal Wi-Fi is easier to build than fiber broadband, but it's still been a mixed bag. Over the past decade, cities across the country tried offering free Wi-Fi through public-private partnerships that largely failed.

Now phone and cable companies are trying to seal the coffin. To protect their lock on broadband, they've pushed state laws blocking or preventing municipalities from offering Wi-Fi or broadband services. The laws have passed in at least 19 states, according to Muninetworks.org.

In years past, Seattle stood up to this kind of bullying and built its own public utilities.

Schrier hasn't heard of such laws surfacing in Washington, yet. Phone companies needn't bother.

Now the hero may be San Jose, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. It's building one of the nation's fastest Wi-Fi networks to serve city agencies and provide free public access in 1.5 square miles of its downtown.

Networking gear must be cheaper closer to the source. San Jose expects to spend $94,000 building the new network and $22,000 a year to operate it, which is about the same cost as its current system.

Schrier wasn't familiar with the details of San Jose's plan.

He was an early proponent of Seattle's broadband plan, but no longer.

He's retiring after 29 1/2 years and spent Friday packing up his office. Among the artifacts he uncovered was a 2003 plan to provide free Wi-Fi downtown, another forward-looking project that never came to pass.

A series of mayors talked about the importance of citywide broadband, but none saw it through.

The new plan is to hawk portions of the city's internal fiber network to the highest bidder. Schrier said Mayor Mike McGinn will propose an ordinance within two weeks to offer up "excess capacity."

Apartment developers, private schools or even a hospital could end up using parts of the network Seattle spent more than $50 million building for city use.

The city is putting energy into a project with the University of Washington to use city assets for a small pocket of fast broadband, perhaps in South Lake Union.

That won't do much for people like Gordon Curvey, a Columbia City resident who used the city Wi-Fi to learn the HTML language for building Web pages and to run a music website.

For Curvey, it's appalling the hometown of Amazon.com and Microsoft's founders can't keep providing the service.

"I could see it happening in Olympia or Wenatchee or something like that, but Seattle?" he said. "Come on, I don't get it."

Neither do I.

More TV services are now available for the Xbox. But they're not for cord-cutters.

Instead, they're designed for people who already subscribe to those services, and want to extend them through the game console to another room in the house. They also require console owners to subscribe to Microsoft's premium Xbox Live service.

Perhaps this will lead to the Xbox doing double-duty as a cable box -- as it does in some regions overseas already -- but for now the additions mostly bring the console's video options in line with wireless TVs and streaming video adapters. It also showcases the ability to use the Kinect sensor as a remote control using voice and gestures.

Either way Xbox users are taking to the entertainment services. Usage of entertainment apps on the console has doubled over the last year, overtaking the time spent playing multiplayer games on the system, Microsoft said in its release.

Subscribers to Xbox Live Gold service now spend an average of 84 hours per month on the service, and its Zune video store is now the world's second-largest online video store, the company said.

Video consumption via the Xbox is likely to grow further after today's announcement that Comcast, HBO and MLB services have joined the console's video lineup, nine months after they were announced at last June's E3 game conference. The lineup was confirmed in October and began appearing in December -- helping to goose holiday sales of the console -- but it has taken awhile to get the lineup filled out.

Comcast, in particular, appears complicated. The company isn't providing the same on-demand library on the console as it provides through cable boxes and other devices, according to documentation called out by bloggers over the weekend.

Comcast also is excluding content streamed to the Xbox from data consumption limits that it applies to broadband customers, raising a net neutrality question around preferential treatment the dominant cable company is providing to its own video service, Ars Technical noted.

To receive the Comcast video via the Xbox, you need to have the console, a digital cable subscription and a digital cable box in the home.

UPDATE: On top of all that, glitches caused problems for some people trying to set up the Comcast Xfinity app, according to blogger Ed Bott. Perhaps this helps explain why it took so long for the app to appear.

The HBO Go app brings HBO's full catalog to the console, where it's searchable by voice. That's if you already subscribe to HBO through a cable provider.

UPDATE: It turns out the app won't work on an Xbox for Comcast Xfinity subscribers, because Comcast and a few other large cable providers aren't supporting it. The statement from HBO spokeswoman Laura Young:

Comcast/Xfinity, Time Warner Cable and Bright House are currently not supporting HBO GO on Xbox 360. They do, however, support HBO GO online and through the HBO GO mobile app (iPad, iPhone, select Android smartphones).

The following television providers are supporting HBO GO on Xbox 360: AT&T, BendBroadband, Blue Ridge Communications, Cablevision, Charter, Cox, Directv, Dish, Grande Communications, HTC Digital Cable, Massillon Cable/Clear Picture, Mediacom, Midcontinent Communications, RCN, Suddenlink, Verizon and Wow.

We believe that HBO GO is a great enhancement to the HBO subscription so we remain hopeful that all of our distributors will support the service on all platforms in the near future. We encourage our subscribers at non-participating television providers to reach out to their provider and request that they add support for HBO GO on Xbox 360.

MLB.TV is providing customers of its premium-level pay TV service 2,430 games (not 2,429 or 2,431 ...) to watch in high-definition live or in a condensed recap format on the Xbox. The service provides home and away broadcast feeds for out-of-market regular season games "where available," according to the release. It can be controlled with voice and motion controls using the Kinect sensor.

Cable giant Comcast is getting offensive, and I'm not just talking about rates.

As Americans surround themselves with video screens that stream movies and TV shows from different websites, Comcast is going after the challengers.

Comcast had to do something. It can no longer rely on the near monopoly provided by government franchises and content-licensing deals to hold on to its cable TV customers.

So the Philadelphia-based company is giving itself a makeover, in the style of Hulu, Netflix, iTunes and other popular digital-video portals.

Over the past year, Comcast has rolled out new hardware, Web services and mobile applications that extend its video content well beyond the TV and set-top box.

It looks like the company is trying to stem the tide of "cord cutters" who are turning to broadcast and Web video, but managers behind the new initiatives denied that's the case.

"I would say the reason we're doing a lot of this stuff is because our audience is moving to different devices," Tom Blaxland, senior director of product management, said during a recent media tour highlighting the new services.

Blaxland (below) manages a Comcast team in Philadelphia that's building new Web interfaces and mobile apps.

"We just keep following that thread of where our customers are going, so we can give them tools they appreciate," he said.

It may be working. Earlier this month, Comcast announced it's losing fewer cable TV subscribers this year -- 443,000 through the nine months ending Sept. 30, compared with 622,000 lost during the same period last year.

Comcast's big growth area remains broadband Internet service. Content and video services add value to the broadband business, and prevent the company from becoming a simple utility.

Customers benefit because the rise of Web alternatives is pressuring Comcast to provide new and improved services to subscribers, but it hasn't gone so far as to lower rates. Instead it's offering more ways to consume content you're paying for already.

With nearly 4 million users, Comcast's video-streaming apps are hits. But that's still only a small portion of the 20 million digital TV subscribers who could get their content on mobile devices through the free apps.

About 8 million people are using Comcast's video site, XfinityTV.com. That includes 5.5 million subscribers and 2.5 million others who use the site to stream free broadcast content.

One goal of the site is to provide a unified console for TV shows and movies available via Comcast. Listings show what can be recorded to a DVR, streamed over the Internet or played from Comcast's "On Demand" collection.

Blaxland said this content may be available from various other websites, but it can get complicated for avid viewers to bookmark and track dozens of sites to get their shows online.

For a while, Microsoft was heading in this direction with its Windows Media Center video guide, which can blend cable, broadcast and online video sources. But the company now emphasizes the Xbox for video consumption.

Comcast also is developing a new app that will stream live TV shows to Web tablets in subscribers' homes, matching a capability offered by other cable companies. Comcast announced the live TV streaming in January and disclosed last summer that it will use a Motorola device that connects to home routers and handles the streaming. Reports last week said the service will enter testing in a few weeks and initially work only with iPads and Motorola Xoom tablets.

Comcast also is preparing to release a new cable box that plays cable TV, Web video content and some Web apps. Dubbed "Xcalibur," the set-top box is being tested in Georgia, with plans to roll it out across the country starting next year.

Tying these apps and products together is a new interface design dominated by thumbnail "cover shots" of movies and TV shows. It looks more like iTunes or Netflix than the traditional Comcast menu. The interface was added to the XfinityTV.com site in October and is used on the new Xcalibur box.

Elements of the interface will also appear on the new Comcast app coming this month to the Xbox 360, Blaxland said. Comcast subscribers will be able to stream stored -- but not live -- video content to the consoles, after Microsoft rolls out a new software dashboard for the consoles Dec. 6.

Some of these changes reflect what's happening behind the scenes. Comcast is now streaming content over the Internet from a central hub in Denver, which could eventually replace the local "hubs" that Comcast uses to store and distribute video over its traditional cable.

Meanwhile, the company is using both cable and Web systems. That's why subscribers will see some shows available "On Demand" -- from Comcast's regional hubs -- and others available for Web streaming. Different licensing deals affect what's available from the two systems.

You'd think Comcast would be able to abandon regional hubs and just stream everything via the Internet, as Netflix or Hulu does. That would eliminate the need for set-top boxes, and let customers stream live and on-demand content straight to connected TVs, tablets and game consoles.

Blaxland said "you could foresee that being the case" but for now the cable system still works well for distributing high-quality video.

"Eventually the IP (Internet protocol) stuff will catch up so that we can do some pretty cool stuff," he said.

Having one central hub could also lower Comcast's operating costs dramatically.

So does that mean subscriber rates will come down? Not likely.

"There's no way you can speculate on that," spokesman Steve Kipp said, explaining that content costs will keep going up even if distribution costs fall: "Those rates keep going up year after year, especially sports."

Skype's not acting like a company in flux.

Although it's in the midst of being acquired by Microsoft, Skype today joined Comcast in announcing a new partnership that will use Skype to provide high-definition video calling to Comcast customers.

The move will extend Comcast's telecommunication services - it already provides phone service to about 8.5 million customers - at a time when video calling is coming to the TV through a variety of new electronic devices.

Some televisions now have built-in cameras for video calling. It's also a key feature of Google's new TV platform and Microsoft's Kinect controller for the Xbox 360 console.

Comcast will charge a monthly fee for the service, which is entering testing later this year. Customers will receive an adapter box and a camera to mount on the TV, with which they'll be able to make and receive an unlimited number of video calls for no additional charge.

Skype's also going to become part of Comcast's mobile application. Customers will be able to make video and audio calls and send instant messages via Skype on smartphones and tablets.

Pricing and timing of the service hasn't been determined yet. Comcast is demonstrating it today at a cable industry conference in Chicago.

The service will begin with 720p resolution but plans are to increase it to 1080p, according to Cathy Avgiris, senior vice president and general manager of communication and data services at Comcast.

Avgiris doesn't expect Microsoft's pending acquisition of Skype to affect Comcast's plans. Microsoft on May 10 announced that it's buying Skype for $8.5 billion in a deal that's expected to receive regulatory approval by the end of the year.

"From our perspective, we're full steam ahead," Avgiris said. "I don't see any changes. We've been working very closely with the Skype team and we'll continue to work through it."

Skype spokeswoman Brianna Reynaud declined to comment on how the Comcast service will be affected by the Microsoft deal. "It is business as usual for Skype and we don't discuss forward looking plans," she said via email.

Asked if Comcast could also work with Microsoft to provide the Skype service through Xbox 360s, which are used by some cable companies as set-top boxes, Avgiris left open the possibility.

"There are lots of opportunities, lots of possibilities," she said, adding that first "you've got to get the product out to market and make sure it resonates with customers."

Comcast is still analyzing how to bundle the service. Avgiris said it will need broadband with at least 1.5 megabits per second download speeds but won't necessarily require subscriptions to Comcast voice and TV services.

"I don't see it will necessarily be limited to triple play," she said.

A few updates from your neighborhood broadband providers:

Comcast today announced a new tier of service, the "Extreme 105 Mbps," which is now available in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Denver and other large markets. The top speed was previously 50 Mbps, which became available in late 2008.

If ordered with a "triple play" bundle, the service is available with 12-month introductory rate of $105 per month. After the intro rate expires, the service will cost $129.95 per month.

At that speed, you can download a 4 gigabyte high-def movie in five minutes, a standard-def TV show in 20 seconds and an album in three seconds, according to Comcast's release.

You could also hit Comcast's 250 gigabyte per month download limit in about five hours.

Simultaneously, Frontier Communications announced that it has spent $5.2 million to expand its broadband service in 11 counties in Washington state.

The effort brings Frontier's broadband to an additional 14,100 homes in 21 communities in Chelan, Clark, Douglas, Grant, Grays Harbor, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Whatcom, Whitman and Yakima counties.

Frontier pledged to spend $40 million upgrading and expanding broadband in Washington after it took over Verizon's phone business in the region last year. A spokeswoman said the remaining $35 million or so will be spent extending broadband to rural areas by the end of 2013.

Comcast early today made TV Japan available for free to all of its digital cable customers in Washington, so they can get earthquake news from the 24-hour Japanese news channel.

TV Japan airs on digital cable channel 245. It's normally a premium channel requiring an extra charge, but Comcast unencrypted the signal today. It will remain free for a week to Washington state Comcast customers, the company said.

UPDATE: A few people have mentioned in the comments that they're not receiving the channel. I checked with Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp, who said the channel is working. Customers should first make sure their connections are secure, he said. If that doesn't work, they can call 1-800-COMCAST and try and sort it out over the phone.

"If that doesn't work, we can send a service technician to their home," Kipp said via email.

Sezmi, an ambitious TV startup led by veterans of Sony and Clearwire, is finally launching its service in Seattle next month.

The company offers an alternative to cable and satellite TV services, using special hardware that receives TV content over-the-air and via broadband Internet connections.

Sezmi tested its service in Seattle in 2008, in part because of the region's challenging topography. It also helped that three of the company's managers were based here at the time.

Here's a story I wrote in 2008 when the company announced its plans.

Service in Seattle will start with a basic $4.99 per month plan offering local broadcast channels in high definition, a library of on-demand movies and cable shows, and access to YouTube and other Web video shows.

To use the service, you've got to buy the hardware - including a receiver and a DVR with 1 terabyte of capacity shown here - for $150. There are no equipment rental fees.

In other markets, Sezmi offers a premium plan for $19 that includes access to 15 cable channels but not ESPN, Food Network or HGTV. A spokeswoman said the premium service should be available in Seattle at the end of the year or the start of 2011 and the company's working to expand the cable lineup.

Sezmi, based in Belmont, Calif., raised $75 million since it was started in 2006. It launched its service earlier this year in Los Angeles.

Seattle's part of an expansion push that's extending Sezmi from 15 to 36 markets on Aug. 2.

Fireworks will go off as soon as Comcast customers open their next bill.

The company is raising rates an average of $3.21 per month, or 4.9 percent. It's also raising the fee to rent a cable modem by $2 a month.

Comcast just announced that it will be notifying its 1.1 million customers in Washington of the new rates, which take effect Aug. 1. The statement from spokesman Steve Kipp:

"We continue to invest in next-generation technology to support new product features, more programming choices and improvements to customer service. These investments make it possible to deliver continued innovations such as more HD and On Demand choices, converged services, multi-platform content, faster Internet speeds and new services consumers want and value. As a result of these investments, combined with the increased cost of doing business and rising programming costs, the average customer bill will increase by 4 percent."

Digital Starter -- the most common package -- is increasing in price $3.54, from $57.45 to $60.99.

People who get barebones, absolute basic cable won't see a price increase. Those plans will stay $13 to $18 per month, depending on where you live.

For people who subscribe only to Comcast broadband, and not its TV service, there will be a $3 per month increase "to standardize our pricing with other Comcast regions around the country," Kipp said via e-mail.

Those who get the "Digital Economy" package will get a break. Their rates will decline, ranging from 4 cents per month to $10.04 per month, depending on their bundle, because Comcast is standardizing this service tier at $29.95 per month. Digital Economy includes the limited basic channels but 17 digital cable channels, including Food Network, History, Disney Channel, Lifetime, AMC and USA.

CableCard users will continue to get their first card free. A second card will cost 10 cents less per month -- $1.50 instead of $1.60.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- As the nation's biggest cable company and Internet service provider, Comcast is in a position to help the movie industry transition from its declining DVD business to selling movies online, said Steve Burke, chief operating officer and president of its cable business.

"So as the supplier of so many people's video service and Internet service we think we would be in a very unique position to craft that evolution," Burke said in an interview with Kara Swisher, co-host of the D8: All Things Digital Conference organized by the Wall Street Journal.

Burke said Comcast plans to invest in NBC after its acquisition of the media company is completed toward the end of this year. He said network television is a challenging business but the cable channels it's acquiring are profitable.

Those cable channel businesses tend to be the best part of the media landscape now," he said. "If you talk about Disney or Fox or Time Warner, the majority of the cash .... comes from cable."

Asked about the Universal movie studio that's also part of the deal, Burke said Universal has 4,000 movies that Comcast can be distributed electronically. He said the company doesn't plan to sell the studio or other pieces.

"Those are all businesses that belong in a well-rounded media company," he said.

Google and others are working on TV delivery systems that use the Internet to deliver content and bypass cable companies, Swisher noted.

Burke said people subscribe to cable largely because they want particular channels that are available on cable, such as ESPN.

What about ending bundles and offering a la carte channels? Burke said that's not the way programming contracts between cable and content companies work.

"The ecosystem has evolved so that people pay $50 or $60 and get 200 channels," he said, adding later that "It's been pretty successful for both sides of the equation."

Looking ahead, as new devices and services appear, it will still be in content providers best interest to have deals with distribution companies such as Comcast, Burke said.

As the bundling discussion continued, Burke poked back at Swisher, saying that he'd "like to buy the first section of the Wall Street Journal and not the next three sections."

Asked about 3-D TV, Burke said it's clearly coming but he's not enthusiastic about wearing special glasses and some material may not be ideal for the medium, such as overhead shots of a football game.

"I think it remains to be seen what percent of your viewing will be in 3-D, what type of viewing you'll do," he said.

Although Comcast is trying to sell more movies online, Burke's still a fan of movie theaters for a movie's initial release.

"The best place for bringing a movie to the general public is a movie theater," he said.

Burke said technology has been seen as a threat to content businesses but he believes new devices and distribution systems will make professionally produced content even more valuable 10 or 20 years from now.

"The reality is these things tend to be additive and the pie grows," he said.

During a Q&A session at the end, Burke was asked about Comcast's stance toward an open Internet, developing apps for the Comcast platform and customer service.

Burke said he and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts had been to visit Steve Jobs five times in the past decade, asking for help creating a better interface. Jobs response, Burke said, was "Of courses I can but you have to use our hardware."

With $10 billion invested by Comcast in various set-top boxes, that's just too complicated.

"It's harder than we wish it was. I actually think it would be a wonderful thing if we had the open application environment that you see on an iPad for television," he said.

"The fact of the matter is the software platform is balkanized, and it's a hard thing to do."

Burke said Comcast believes in an open Internet but the company has to make sure its network is running well and providing protectdions against spam and copyright violations.

"You walk this fine line between making sure the highway is not jammed with cars but also people rightly concerned access to that highway is as open as possible," he said.

In response to a question from a person saying that "many of your customers hate you," Burke said Comcast has about 24 million customers and 100,000 employees and "you don't get it right all the time."

But the company is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve service. "We are clearly getting better," he said.

Cable networks were created for analog products and are now used for digital phone, TV and Internet service, he noted.

"We are an industry that cobbled itself together and are now catching up to how complicated these networks are," he said.

Starting next week in Seattle and 10 other markets across the country, Comcast is rolling out a new brand for its services -- XFINITY, including XFINITY TV, XFINITY Voice and XFINITY Internet.

"XFINITY represents the future of our company and it's a promise to customers that we'll keep innovating," Executive Vice President David Watson said in a blog post, after the change was disclosed in an earnings call.

It also implies infinity, even though the company is now placing limits on subscribers' broadband consumption.

Comcast will remain the name of the parent company. I wonder if they'll change NBC to the XFINITY Network (XFN?) next.

Other markets getting XFINITY next week include Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, Hartford, Augusta, Chattanooga and parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Spokesman Steve Kipp said last year's switch from analog to digital cable laid the groundwork for the switch to XFINITY by freeing up bandwidth for new services, including 100 megabit per second broadband, additional high-def channels and a larger on-demand catalog.

"We've invested hundreds of millions of dollars into improving our fiber optic network in Washington and plan to continue to make investments and improvements in our network for years to come. The XFINITY brand is a way for us to wrap all of those improvements under one umbrella," Kipp said in an e-mail.

Comcast is introducing a "data meter" to broadband customers in Washington state on Tuesday to help customers keep track of broadband consumption -- and avoid hitting the company's controversial data usage cap.

In October 2008, the company began limiting residential broadband customers to 250 gigabytes of data usage per month. Before that, the company had periodically cut off service to people using too much broadband, but hadn't specified an amount, drawing complaints that it was throttling users.

After the limit was specified, customers asked Comcast for some kind of meter so they could keep track of their usage, spokesman Steve Kipp said in announcing the meter.

"Our hope is that this meter will help give our customers a better picture of their overall bandwidth consumption. We believe many will be surprised by how little data they actually consume,'' he said in the release.

Comcast will send broadband customers an e-mail Tuesday about the meter, shown here:

UPDATE: Kipp said about 40 percent of customers received the meter on Tuesday and the rest should have it Thursday.

Kipp said most customers don't consume enough data to be concerned; customer consume at the median from 2 to 4 gigabytes per month and 99 percent use less than 250 gigs per month.

"For the fraction of less than 1 percent of our customers who are concerned about exceeding our excessive use threshold, we believe this meter will help them monitor and calibrate their usage," Kipp said. "It may also help them identify potential problems such as the presence of a bot or virus or excessive use of their bandwidth via an unsecured wireless router."

Comcast imposed the "excessive use program in order to provide a high-quality online service for all of our customers because extremely high-data users can negatively impact the experience for other customers,'' he said.

Washington is the company's second market to receive the meter, which was introduced earlier in Portland.

A few details Kipp called out:

-- The meter will measure all data usage over a cable modem, including data used by all computers, consoles and devices in a home that go online via that modem.

-- The meter will display usage on a calendar month, not the monthly billing cycle, which may be different. it will udpate about every three hours.

-- The meter will "display usage conservatively in favor of customers" by rounding usage down to the nearest gigabyte, rather than up, the release said.

-- Comcast hired a consultant, NetForecast, to analyze the accuracy of the meter during a test period last summer.

Here's how to find the meter on your Comcast account, according to the release:

"Customers can access the meter by logging into Comcast Central at http://customer.comcast.com and clicking on the 'Users and Settings' tab. There, they will see a link to 'View details' in the 'My devices' section (located toward the upper right hand of the screen) that will take them to their data usage details page. The meter will first show usage in the current month. Over time, it will show the most recent three months of usage (including the current month)."

So what happens if you go over the 250 GB limit?

You may get a call from Comcast, and put on a sort of probation. If you cross the limit again within six months, Comcast will cut off your service for a year.

Kipp said the callers from the "Customer Security Assurance team" will say how much data was used and "try to help you identify the source of excessive use and ask you to moderate your usage, which the vast majority of our customers do voluntarily ... We know from experience that most customers curb their usage after our first call."

"Our practice for the past several years has been to call only our heaviest data users, and this practice remains the same now that the 250GB data usage threshold is in effect," Kipp wrote. "We may change our practice but will, of course, provide notice to the customer of any change."

Comcast just announced that it has completed its digital conversion in Washington and begun encrypting premium cable channels. That ends a complicated transition that began late last year and forced "expanded basic" customers to add conversion devices to all their TVs.

The company ended up giving out more than 1.5 million converter boxes to customers in Washington state.

As a few readers have pointed out recently, the encryption ends a brief free ride for some "limited basic" customers with QAM TV tuners who were receiving some unencrypted channels in the 30 to 70 range.

Spokesman Steve Kipp explained the closure of this loophole in an e-mail:

"Many of our programming contracts require that we protect our channels from unauthorized viewing. Comcast has always protected content through the use of physical traps for analog content and encryption for digital content on cable boxes. In Washington, there was a small window of time during our digital upgrade project in which customers with televisions with QAM tuners were able to view Expanded Basic digital channels without digital set-top box equipment. Encryption is a more reliable, secure method of protecting content and in compliance with our contractual and FCC requirements."

Comcast is now encrypting channels in the 30 to 70 range (the numbers may have shifted but that was the previous range, before the digital conversion).

Still available unencrypted are the "limited basic" channels -- 2 to 29 and 75 to 99, including C-Span and C-Span2.

By switching 30 to 70 from analog to digital, Comcast freed up bandwidth to offer new services and more high-definition channels, Kipp noted.

It also ended up encouraging some customers to upgrade to Comcast digital video recorders after the switch reduced the capabilities of equipment such as VCRs.

Comcast's digital switch - the one that's requiring expanded basic subscribers to put converter boxes on every TV - is proceeding on schedule, spokesman Steve Kipp said today.

The switch is largely done in Washington and now moving into remaining pockets within Seattle. Conversion began today in West Seattle and Georgetown. The rest of Seattle will begin seeing the changes by the end of the week.

Comcast is moving channels 30 to 70 from analog to digital, a move that's freeing up bandwidth that will be used for additional services. The company's also providing 33 new channels to affected subscribers, although most are high-definition versions of current channels.

It's converting 30-70 to digital in blocks of 20 channels at a time, with the first 20 moving in Seattle this week and the rest going on Nov. 10 and 12. This is the same schedule that was first disclosed in June.

Channels for "limited basic" customers will continue to broadcast in both digital and analog format, Kipp said.

More than 1.3 million boxes have been issued or 95 percent of the total needed to finish the project, he said. The whole state should be done by the end of the year.

Here are a few links to earlier stories on the switch.

Here's some info for people adding Comcast DTA converter devices to a TV setup using a Windows Media Center PC.

It's based on an exchange with a Seattle guy having trouble getting his new DTA converter to work with his PC. As he describes it:

The DTA worked fine on my TV. It was really actually easy. I tried to put a DTA on my Vista computer and failed miserably. For some reason the IR [infrared] blaster would not transmit well and Media Center would not recognize the signals. It tried to learn my remote over and over with no success. I went online and found other people with similar problems. Their suggestions revolved around moving the IR blaster around but that didn't work for me. It should have worked, but didn't. I already rent one DVR from Comcast, but I am trying to avoid renting a 2nd.

I relayed the question to Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, which is responsible for Media Center. The response from a spokesman:

Some Comcast DTA converter boxes use the IR code C1982, which consumers can select using "Find from List" in the IR setup. However, this code may not be applicable to all Comcast DTA converters. Microsoft MVP Barb Bowman has also published a detailed description of the DTA setup, which goes through the steps required to use a Comcast DTA with Windows Media Center, which you can find online here: http://digitalmediaphile.com/index.php/2009/04/17/setup-a-comcast-dta-with-mce/

Here's some earlier info I received from Comcast on how Media Center PCs are affected by the cable company's digital switch. Let me know if there are other ways to make these things work.

Monday's column on upcoming Comcast changes prompted a few questions. Here's how I've been answering the calls and e-mails.

-- Will Comcast also encrypt "Limited Basic" channels?

No. Spokesman Steve Kipp told me Limited Basic won't be encrypted. That includes channels 2-29 and 70-99.

-- Will Limited Basic remain analog, so I don't have to use a Comcast converter?

Yes, those channels will continue receiving both analog and digital signals, Kipp said.

-- I'm so mad at Comcast I want FiOS, but it's not in my Eastside neighborhood. What's happening?

Verizon and King County are negotiating a franchise agreement affecting unincorporated areas. Here's a link to the King County cable office with an update and contact info.

-- The Ceton video card sounds great but it sounds expensive. How much will it cost?

The $250 per tuner number in the column was vague but the best I could get from Ceton, which is still trying to get the device certified and sorting out marketing plans. I'll provide more specifics as they are available. I think it will be a hit if they keep it under $300 it will be a hit, but if they want $600 or more it won't be a game changer at all.

-- Where did you get the $22 price for an "additional HD DVR" from Comcast?

That was in the Sept. 2 legal notice announcing price changes effective as of Oct. 6. It includes the monthly cost of an additional box and cable outlet.

-- What about all those new HD channels Comcast promised?

Here's the announcement from Comcast with more details. Note that the additions include current channels that are being sent at a higher resolution.

-- What are you talking about here? I don't understand any of this jibber jabber.

Comcast is converting some of its channels from an analog format to a digital format. This will free up bandwidth for the company to deliver more channels and services on its network. Here's the original story disclosing how this will affect "expanded basic" customers and a March item with links to FAQs and more info.

Happy fall from Comcast: The company said it's raising rates for cable customers in Washington starting Oct. 6.

Broadband prices won't change, but cable TV is getting more expensive.

From the pricing announcement:

-- Digital Starter, which is the entry level digital cable tier and is taken by the vast majority of our customers, will increase by $1.70 from $55.75 to $57.45.

-- The monthly fee to lease a cable modem from Comcast will increase from $3.00 to $5.00. Customers who have purchased their own modems will not see any increases in the prices they pay for our high speed Internet service. There will be no price increases for Comcast's high speed Internet service.

-- The monthly fee to lease a modem for Comcast Digital Voice service will increase from $3 to $5. (Note: Customers who take both phone and Internet service use only one device for both services and will see only one increase.) There will be no price increases for Comcast Digital Voice service.

"These price adjustments reflect the increased cost of doing business and our continued investment in next-generation technology and equipment to support new product features, more programming choices and improvements to customer service," spokesman Steve Kipp said in the release.

Kipp said the price hike is not "related to our own digital upgrade project which we expect to complete this year, nor are they related to the broadcast digital transition which took place June 12th. We have no plans to charge customers for the free digital boxes/DTAs that have been installed in their homes as part of our digital upgrade project."

Comcast is shuffling a bunch of channels in early August in King County, including a few moves related to its digital conversion.

Mostly affected are customers who already have digital cable service.

Starting around Aug. 5, Digital Starter subscribers will start getting high-definition versions of 28 channels such as MTV, Comedy Central, Travel, BET, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The full list was printed in the paper's legal notices section.

Digital Preferred customers will get four additional sports channels - NBA TV, NFL Network, NFL Network HD and NHL Network - but lose ESPN Classic to the optional "sports entertainment" tier that costs an extra $5.99 per month.

Also being added is an HD version of CBUT, at channel 619. It will be available to "Limited Basic" customers using an HDTV and a digital tuner.

Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp also provided a little information on the Clearwire 4G/WiMax mobile wireless bundles that Comcast began selling in Portland on Tuesday.

Comcast plans to offer the Clearwire bundles in the Seattle area in 2010, Kipp said.

Portland's promotional price, at least, doesn't sound too bad.

Comcast is offering a $50 per month bundle that includes 12 megabits per second home broadband plus Clearwire mobile service in the metro area, offering up to 4 Mbps. After the first year promo, the plan will cost $73 per month.

Subscribers to Comcast's triple play phone/TV/broadband plan can add Clearwire for $30 per month. It's also offering a Clearwire/Sprint combo that provides local 4G and national 3G via Sprint for an additional $20 per month.

Comcast invested in Clearwire in 2008.

A number of people have asked today about the Comcast digital switch and how it's affecting their ability to record shows with a VCR or Tivo.

Here is an earlier column about the Comcast-VCR situation and a blog entry with more info.

Here is a piece on Tivos and Media Center PCs and a companion blog entry.

After mentioning Comcast's digital switch on Monday, I heard from several "expanded basic" subscribers who said they're losing channels.

What's happening, according to spokesman Steve Kipp, is that Comcast has started converting blocks of channels 30 to 70 from analog to digital.

As reported earlier, expanded basic customers will need to have some sort of Comcast converter box to get the digital channels, even if their TV has a digital tuner. Comcast is providing converters or a free set-top box to affected customers.

Comcast hasn't yet scrambled the digital channels, so subscribers with a digital TV tuner may still be receiving them without a converter device. Subscribers with a non-digital tuner who haven't yet added a converter may start "losing" channels as the conversion proceeds.

Channels 50 and 61 -- Oxygen and CMT -- went digital in mid-May under agreements Comcast made with those networks.

On Monday Comcast also began converting more channels in Bellevue and Spokane, moving a block of 20 channels to digital. The remaining 20 will be moved at the end of July in those areas. The conversion is already complete in Everett and some smaller suburbs. The process should begin in Seattle in October.

The same process is going to happen throughout Comcast's network eventually. Moving from analog to digital will free up spectrum, increasing the capacity of its system so it can add new services such as faster broadband and additional channels.

But it's still a hassle for customers who have to add a converter.

Here are the blocks of channels being converted to digital. This list was provided by Kipp, who said the block on the left converted Monday in Bellevue and Spokane:

Comcast provided an update today on its digital conversion - the one affecting cable customers, and requiring most to have cable boxes on every TV.

The company's finished testing and changing the system in smaller suburbs and is now making the switch in Everett and Olympia. Then it's going to happen in Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, Aberdeen and South King County this summer.

Seattle's getting the switch in the fall and the entire state should be done by year-end, spokesman Steve Kipp said.

Homes that have already been converted may notice some crisper images, by the way. The company also announced that it converted 31 channels to high definition this week. They include:

Encore HD, Starz Kids & Family HD, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD, Speed HD, ESPNews HD, WE TV HD, Style HD, E! HD, Bravo HD, Lifetime HD, Travel Channel HD, Fox News Channels HD, Fox Business HD, CNN HD, CNBC HD, Spike HD, TBS in HD, Nick HD, Cartoon Network HD, Disney XD HD, Fuse HD, TV One HD, QVC HD, G4 HD, BIO HD, Planet Green HD, AMC HD, LMN HD, IFC HD and InDemand PPV Events HD.

The HD versions of those channels are now being provided in Brier, Clearview, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo, Black Diamond, Covington, Enumclaw, Maple Valley, Pacific, Unincorporated King County, Bonney Lake, Buckley, Carbonado, Eatonville, Graham, Orting, Roy, South Prairie and Wilkeson.

One of the most troublesome questions that arose after Monday's column on Comcast's digital switch involved the apparent downgrade of cable signals after customers install the "free" converters that Comcast is providing to expanded-basic customers.

It turns out the devices don't support high-definition content. So customers who had been getting high-def channels with their expanded basic package are seeing those channels downgraded to standard definition after they install the converters.

When they complain to Comcast, the company suggests they pay $6.95 a month for an HD-capable device. Apparently, you get what you pay for with these free converters.

Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp defended the company's practice and suggested a workaround. He said expanded-basic customers that were receiving high-def channels must have been getting them because they have TVs with digital tuners.

Comcast will provide a free splitter, he said, so they can split the incoming cable. One input will go to the converter device, and the other will go directly to the TV, so it can still get high-definition channels that aren't scrambled.

"It's not resulting in a degraded service because all they have to do is have a splitter and they'll be able to see all the service they currently receive,'' he said. "It's an additional, very minor piece of equipment that has to be added."

But it also adds a hassle for consumers. Not only do they have to figure out the splitter, they will have to change the TVs input if they want to change channels to one that's high-definition.

The simpler solution, of course, is to drop the free converter and start paying Comcast for an HD capable box.

Lots of great questions came up after this morning's piece on Comcast's digital switch and how it will affect people with TiVos and Media Center PCs.

One reader asked when Comcast is switching expanded basic from analog to digital. The transition is happening in areas south and north of Seattle, and it will be done throughout this region by the end of the year. It started earlier with the switch in Western Oregon, and it's also happening now in the San Francisco area.

Here's the most recent schedule for the Puget Sound region and a list of affected channels.

A few readers have had hassles getting the free digital boxes. Expanded basic customers are eligible for one free basic set top box and two smaller "DTA" converter devices. One reader said she received her third free box only after talking to a customer-service supervisor and mentioning today's article.

Several pointed out that "free" is a relative term. For instance, some noted that when the free converters are connected, they no longer receive high definition signals. An excerpt from a note a received this morning:

They informed me that yes, it was true that the digital box wouldn't allow an HD signal but they could "upgrade" me to HD for an additional $6.95 per month. I do not understand why I should pay more for an HD signal that I was already receiving before Comcast so generously "gave" me a digital box.

Another had the same experience, but managed to get the fee waived after several rounds with customer service:

I said what happened to the Comcast ads that said if you're a Comcast customer you don't have to do a thing for the change over, you're ready? I further added that I wouldn't pay for a HD box given I was already getting HD channels before this latest change, plus I never wanted another box to deal with & what happens to my HD television that came with a remote control that does many a thing now I'm stuck having to use Comcast's box for HD?

We were given a larger still box, now HD ready & a remote to program so we didn't lose what our remote already does. 'I'll reduce your internet bill by $6.50 to settle the charge you don't want to pay, it'll be good for a year.' What do I do after the year when I still don't want to pay? 'Come back in and ask for the promotion again & they'll give it to you' was the answer I got.

Another asked about delivery of the boxes. To get them for free, you have to pick them up at a Comcast storefront. You can also have them delivered or installed for a fee.

A number of people asked about their TiVo setups. The company actually has a really handy guide online that shows what TiVo owners need to do if their cable service is transitioning to digital format. It explains the variations for different TiVo generations.

I also heard from a tech savvy TiVo user who noted that Series 3 users will need two CableCards to get multiple streams of cable signal from a multistream card. Newer TiVos -- the HD series -- are fine with a single card.

A few asked about VCRs being affected by the digital switch. Here's an earlier piece about that topic, plus some previous FAQs that cover a lot of questions about the Comcast switch.

Finally, a reader on Phinney Ridge suggested people consider his setup: Bare bones basic -- up to channel 29 -- supplemented with free over-the-air, high def digital broadcasts. The basic service qualified him for bundle pricing on Comcast broadband, cutting his overall bill.

Lastly, if Media Center PC users would like to hear directly what Comcast suggests, here are verbatim answers I received when I asked how the switch would affect those systems.

Answer one:

Customers with a Media Center PC with an analog tuner would need to use a DTA to convert the signal to analog to then feed into the PC TV card -- however, the PC is then no longer the tuner, which means the DVR software can no longer change the channel on the PC. The solution would be for the customer to get an IR blaster in addition to the IR input the customer already had on his Media Center PC. The Microsoft DVR software has the ability to learn new IR codes to control external devices through a process of trial and error. The customer will go though the device set up process that exists on the Media Center setup screens. At the end of this process the PC will be able to pass IR commands to the DTA to tune a specific channel at specific times for DVR functionality.

I then asked about Media Centers with digital tuners, and whether they can watch and record shows at the same time with expanded basic and a converter box. The answers:

Regarding a digital tuner in an MCE PC:

This is the same as if they had a QAM tuner in their television. Once the channels are encrypted, they would need a DTA or set top (box).

Regarding watching and recording simultaneously:

In a typical installation, customers would not have the ability to watch and record when using a DTA or set top. However, if the customer has a device with two RF inputs, they could use a splitter on the incoming cable feed, with one output from the splitter going through the set top or DTA, and then into the first input on the device, and the second output from the splitter going directly into the 2nd input on the device. This would allow them to watch or record all channels offered on the DTA or set top that are part of their package on the first input, and allow watch or record functionality for the Limited Basic channels only on the 2nd input (because the Limited Basic channels are still available in analog).

I didn't set out to write a weekly piece on Comcast's digital switch, but I do have some more details that emerged since last Thursday's installment.

Here are questions that arose, with answers from Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp:

Q: There's some confusion about whether channels 30 to 70 will truly be encrypted after they're converted from analog to digital.

Kipp: Shortly after the change, in some cases, the channels will not be encrypted. But they will be encrypted due to agreements we have with the cable networks. My advice to customers: If you happen to not have the channels encrypted, enjoy them while you can, because it won't last for long.

Q: A number of people have noticed their channel lineups changing. Is this work in advance of the digital conversion?

Kipp: We are always doing some channel shuffling or realignments as new agreements with the various networks are being made or the networks change formats or go out of business, etc. Most recently, we have been aligning some of our digital and high-definition channels by genre -- sports, news, entertainment, etc. -- as we have done with our analog channels. This is something that we would be doing regardless of whether we would be going to an all-digital lineup.

Kipp also clarified how many free boxes expanded basic customers will receive. If you are an expanded basic customer with zero cable boxes, you can receive an "advanced" set-top box and two "DTA" converter boxes for additional sets for free.

Expanded basic customers who already have a digital set-top box may receive two of the small DTA converters. They "have been upgraded to our digital starter package. (Last year, we stopped selling analog expanded basic and sold only digital starter, which is the same package of channels, plus a few more digital channels, for the same price. ) So the short answer is that the box already has been included at no extra charge. So in addition to their current box, the customer would then be eligible for two more boxes at no additional charge."

(If you have more questions, they may have been covered in this Comcast digital switch FAQ entry from December)

Isn't TV relaxing?

It's time for an update on some of the digital TV stories I've covered the past few months.

They're all still in flux, but here's the latest: